Will RightMesh Really Change The World? (Part 2)
Connectivity is only one part of the solution.
In our first post in this series, we looked at the first picture of why RightMesh will really change the world: RightMesh will create a new kind of connectivity that is accessible to communities across the world and is not bound by affordability or infrastructure constraints.
The growing digital divide is a real and prevalent problem in the world, and RightMesh is creating a new kind of network that the world desperately needs right now.
By leveraging powerful devices that people already own — i.e. smartphones — mobile mesh networks can be formed that will allow people to communicate, share and collaborate with each other.
But here’s an important question worth considering: is it just about providing connectivity in an entirely new way? Will that create a big enough impact to change the world?
We contend that it is not.
Picture Two: RightMesh will bridge the digital divide with community-driven applications.
It is fairly well known that the internet today benefits just a few privileged countries:
The above visualization depicts the state of connectivity in the world and clearly shows the divide between developed and developing regions. However, the common assumption is that connectivity is the only factor that contributes to the digital divide when, in fact, there are two major factors that contribute to it:
The lack of access to connectivity AND the lack of local and culturally relevant applications.
When we talk about RightMesh and how it intends to bring connectivity to the unconnected, most people automatically assume it is about extending the internet to the unconnected. And to most of us, the internet is represented by what we are largely familiar with today — i.e. Google, Facebook, Amazon, Wikipedia, etc.
But this is not entirely true. Connectivity is a digital medium to bring valuable services and information to users, but that information does not always have to be directly from the internet.
Mesh networks allow for peer-to-peer connectivity. Allowing users to connect directly with one another creates opportunity for communities to drive the creation of beneficial and unexplored use cases that are not possible with centralized infrastructure. Communities can use RightMesh powered applications to form local mesh networks that allow for collaboration and connectivity on a local level.
The importance of applications is perhaps the most overlooked part of the RightMesh project. They are integral to distributing the technology and attaining widespread usage of the platform.
Community-Driven Applications
One of the first pilot applications we started working on is the eNuk application for an Indigenous community in Rigolet, Labrador, Canada, working alongside the University of Guelph, the Labrador Institute of Memorial University, and with the local community itself.
For generations, the Inuit community has relied on traditional knowledge to understand the intricacies of their land; however, climate change has radically changed that. The eNuk application was developed so the community could share pictures and information about the land with each other, track it and monitor it.
The problem? Cell coverage and internet connectivity are extremely limited in Rigolet. (Yes, the problem exists even in Canada!) And without connectivity, the value of the application becomes worthless. We have been working with our partners to integrate RightMesh technology into the eNuk application to ultimately allow the entire community to connect with each other and share environmental data through the application.
Our Android Software Development Kit (SDK) is the means by which RightMesh will be distributed to user devices. The SDK will allow mobile applications, like eNuk, to be built that can integrate mesh networking in a simple manner while ensuring the user interface is culturally relevant. Once integrated and developed, end users do not have to do anything specific except install the app and in a few clicks their device becomes RightMesh enabled.
(Side note: our long-term plans include developing SDKs to power other device platforms and not just smartphones. Initially, though, our focus is on connecting Android smartphones through applications.)
Developing a Model for Impact
I can already guess the next question on your mind:
“That’s all great, but Rigolet is a tiny community. How will RightMesh make a broader impact in the world? How will this network scale and connect the next billion people?”
Granted the eNuk application is a pilot that is just connecting a community of 300 people, yet this is an important starting point towards creating a model that can be adapted in communities that need to connect together for a purpose. I could not have explained this better than Dr. Dan Gillis (Associate Professor at the University of Guelph and Advisor to the RightMesh project) who explains the real value the eNuk application provides for the Inuit community in Rigolet in this insightful post:
“Understanding what is happening as climate change disrupts weather patterns that Inuit have relied on for millennia becomes an act in self-identity, self-realization, and sovereignty.”
In other words, the eNuk application is a tool of empowerment for the community. And this is the real benefit connectivity should provide — empowering communities with digital tools to enrich their lives. That could be apps built specifically for residents in the slums of Mumbai, or applications for farmers in Africa to improve farm productivity, or a crowdsourced application used in Rio De Janeiro’s favelas to notify residents of crime.
There are many more examples of powerful use cases, and in all of these examples, the benefits the application provides cannot be achieved without connectivity.
New forms of connectivity powered by RightMesh networks will enable new local and culturally relevant applications that in turn will usher in new digital waves in these markets. And the formation of RightMesh networks for one application will lead to more applications to be built for the same network, resulting in more users and more network nodes.
We’ve already begun the journey to discover use cases and interesting pilot projects, and while we thought this would be a challenging one, we’ve been both surprised and amazed with the amount of interest we have received so far!
We have had many great discussions with prospective partners around the world regarding specific use cases and applications where RightMesh could be beneficial for local communities — ranging from educational institutions and refugee camps in Asia to remote rural areas in Africa where connectivity does not exist. And of course, we will let the community know as these pilot projects materialize!
If there’s one take away from this post, it’s this: RightMesh is not a platform to build apps for people, it is a platform that can be used by the people for the people themselves to empower their own communities.
So we’ve covered two important pictures of why RightMesh has a chance to change the world:
- RightMesh addresses a real problem.
- RightMesh provides relevant, community-based applications for the unconnected.
The most important picture is yet to come. Stay tuned for part three!
